On January 21, All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (ANA) began flying a new route between Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Frankfurt, Germany.

The route is the carrier's tenth international route serving Haneda and its first to connect the airport with Europe. ANA is using its new Boeing 787 designed specifically for operating on international routes. The flight schedule is as follows:

ANA employees and other guests were joined by the 787 Promotion Girls at the first flight's departure gate to hold a commemorative ceremony, where Ken Nishimura, a Senior Vice President and the General Manager at the Tokyo Sales Office of ANA's Regional Headquarters for Japan, stated that the route will be the world's first international long-haul route for the Boeing 787 to fly and emphasized the great convenience it will offer for travelers making connections to European destinations through Frankfurt. Boarding passengers were treated to a live German accordion performance and German Gluehwein (known as "mulled wine" in English and typically served warm).

In 2009, the Japanese and German aviation authorities approved two late-night flights (10:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m.) a day (14 a week) for their airlines to connect Haneda with major German cities, but ANA's Frankfurt route will be the first regularly scheduled flight to take advantage of this arrangement.